Our hero is sweetly nerdy Colin (Harry Melling), who is in a barbershop quartet with his dad (Douglas Hodge), still lives with his parents, and earns a living as a parking enforcement officer in Bromley, England. While on a blind date at the pub set up by his mum (Lesley Sharp), he meets Ray (Alexander Skarsg\u00e5rd), an enigmatic biker who speaks softly and carries a big dick. Colin is alternately confused and extremely turned on by Ray\u2019s unexplained demands, but he soon learns the ropes of their dom-sub relationship\u2014and learns that he really likes both their dynamic and Ray himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A decade ago, if you\u2019d told me that True Blood<\/em>\u2019s Eric Northman and the Harry Potter series\u2019 Dudley Dursley would be the hottest on-screen couple I\u2019d seen in a minute, I\u2019m not sure I would have believed you (but it\u2019s far from the craziest thing happening in 2026). The off-screen personas of the two actors play into the audience\u2019s expectations of this relationship\u2014as do their looks\u2014but that doesn\u2019t discount the work that Skarsg\u00e5rd and Melling are doing in their performances. The Swedish star is always game for anything, and he brings both a heat and chill to the reticent Ray. Melling is more of a surprise; he displays such tenderness and desire as he discovers more of who he is and what he likes. His Colin is eager to please, and it works as much with Ray as it does for the viewer. <\/p>\n\n\n All of the nuances in these performances are captured in close-ups by director of photography Nick Morris. Intimate camerawork doesn\u2019t only serve to highlight the intimacy of moments between these characters, but it also explores the way both Colin and Ray feel in every second of their interactions. As befits a film named after the passenger seat on a bike, there are also lots of images of motorcycles racing down the motorway, and there\u2019s as much of a reckless, wild energy to these moments as there is in the sex scenes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With its depiction of the kinky sex between Colin and Ray (as well as what happens in Ray\u2019s biker gang), Pillion <\/em>is explicit and extreme but it\u2019s never truly excessive. I wouldn\u2019t watch this with my grandmother (mostly because she\u2019s dead), but it somehow maintains an R rating, thanks to some artful angles. It is pretty graphic, if that\u2019s not your thing, but if that\u2019s not your thing, then what are you even doing here? As far as the BDSM angle, if that\u2019s<\/em> not your thing, Pillion <\/em>is still quite sexy while <\/em>serving as a bit of an education. It has the type of details and specifics about this subculture that create an entire world, which most of the audience is being introduced to alongside Colin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This deeply felt coming-of-age story marks a self-assured feature debut for writer-director Harry Lighton, based on the novel Box Hill<\/em> by Adam Mars-Jones. As hopeful and sweet as it is, Pillion<\/em> also exudes a lot of confidence in telling such an achingly romantic story about a relationship that doesn\u2019t fit how most people think about love. It does it all with a balance of wry wit, curiosity, and honesty, echoing the character who serves as its big, beating heart. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “Pillion” is in select theaters Friday. It opens nationwide on February 20.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/pillion2-1024x683.jpg\")
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